About

Lulu & Po is a tiny Brooklyn neighborhood eatery that serves great New American food featured in small dishes, complimented with great wine and classic cocktails. We are a place to eat, drink and relax. We are part of the neighborhood. We are a place that acknowledges and embraces it’s locals with an inviting, cozy atmosphere and non-pretentious attitude. We know our product well and we are confident, but more than that, we are excited to share the food and spirit we love with others.

Our Story

The road to Lulu & Po has been long and winding for Matthew Hamilton, a veteran chef and former Marine, Great Grandson of a butcher and Grandson to a ships cook. After a childhood on Long Island and Upstate NY, immersed in local foods (clams from the sound, turtles from the local ponds, pig roasts on neighboring farms) Matt discovered a world of previously unknown tastes when stationed in Arizona, California and Japan while serving in the Marine Corps. When he left the service to pursue cooking full time, Matt first landed in San Francisco in the early 1990’s, the epicenter of New American food, where he came up under the iconic chef Judy Rogers at Zuni Cafe. He then did time on a Tuscan olive farm learning the ancient process of Italian oil making before returning to his home state to bring his eclectic experiences to tables in New York City. Over the past 14 years Matt has cooked in Manhattan kitchens uptown and down, from 5 points and Prune, to Public and Uovo and Belcourt.

But all roads lead to home. Now Matt has opened Lulu & Po, the cozy 30-seat Fort Greene spot he named after his daughter, hidden away on a tree lined street in his own neighborhood. He chose to stay close to home in order to focus on creating a real neighborhood restaurant, building out the space himself with locally salvaged woods and architectural details to create a distinctly warm and inviting environment where he can share his love of food with the world. Serving locally sourced ingredients in original and fresh ways, bringing specialties from his childhood upstate along with ideas drawn from his travels and work all over the country and the world, rotating the menu seasonally, weekly, daily, and carefully selecting perfectly suited wines from small vintners, hand crafting cocktails with house made syrups and off brand liquors, Matt has made a unique gem of a restaurant that fits perfectly into today’s local-and-seasonal small-plates Zeitgeist.

Parts of this story were taken from the Robs @ New York Magazine....Thank you